BattleTech: Rock of the Republic: BattleTech, #69

By Blaine Lee Pardoe

FAR FROM HOME…

 

Exarch Devlin Stone, hero of the Word of Blake Jihad and architect of the Republic of the Sphere, has returned only to find his beloved nation under siege and in danger of breaking apart. As threats bear down on the Republic from all sides, Stone and his inner circle must move fast to bolster Terra's defenses from all who seek to conquer the birthplace of humanity.

 

However, not all of his allies have heeded Stone's call to arms. Former Exarch Damien Redburn, who left Terra to defend the Republic's borders from the rapacious Clan Wolf, was cut off when the walls of Fortress Republic rose. Without support or reinforcements, Redburn, the Fidelis, and Countess Tara Campbell's Highlanders have held the line against the Wolves for years, but the never-ending campaign has pushed all of them to their breaking points.

 

Is Stone's return genuine, or a carefully crafted hoax? Can Redburn be brought back into the fold, or has he gone rogue for good? In the end, Stone, Redburn, and their allies must each decide their path before tensions can erupt in a clash that could shake the very foundation of the Republic...
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Catalyst Game Labs
• Release date: Jul 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393609568

Book preview

PROLOGUE

BERCHTESGADEN FACILITY

TERRA

REPUBLIC OF THE SPHERE

8 APRIL 3145

Devlin Stone stared at the wall of monitors in the underground facility as Tucker Harwell set his dinner in front of him. His sense of smell was still off from the cryogenic process, but he thought he caught a whiff of chicken—again. There was no sense in complaining, however, as Tucker demonstrated a remarkable lack of patience for it.

He and Harwell had remained at the secret Berchtesgaden facility while he slowly regained his strength. It gave him time to get caught up, having been frozen for almost fifteen years, and what he saw stunned him. Even with the gaps in the data he had, it painted a staggeringly depressing picture of what had become of the Republic of the Sphere. Stone’s eyes went from report to report, then to the map. What he saw was carnage, death, and chaos.

He drew a long, deep breath of the bunker’s purified air. It all went to hell so fast. Everything I built, almost gone in a matter of years, he said to the holodisplays.

Stone had been in cryogenic stasis until Tucker Harwell had thawed him a few days ago. The younger scientist had insisted on calling in a physician, one sworn to secrecy, who had given Stone a marginal bill of health and orders to relax. The expression the doctor gave him did not shake his resolve. I knew the risks with this process when I undertook it.

Stone had spent that time getting his strength back, taking short walks, and studying what had become of his great dream, his beloved Republic, since he had been frozen. It had not been an easy adjustment, physically, mentally, or emotionally. The freezing process had left him weak, and recovery was painfully slow. He had also awakened in a universe that did not resemble what he had left. War had consumed his Republic to the point where what pieces still remained had either hunkered down behind a technological barrier or had been cut off and isolated from Terra itself.

We haven’t lost everything you built, Exarch, not yet, Harwell replied, sitting at the far end of the oblong desk with his own small tray of food.

Stone cut off a small piece of chicken and chewed it for a moment. When he swallowed, it still hurt the back of his throat. It shouldn’t have. I had everything set up to run without me. I knew with my departure that some would try to take advantage of it. I built that into the models. But this… He gestured to the map of what was left of his Republic. "I never anticipated this."

This can’t be just because I left. There has to be something more that spurred this.

Tucker’s face offered him no solace. Maybe centuries of warfare couldn’t be solved with a few decades of peace. People of the Inner Sphere have had generations to get used to war. On some worlds, the flags change all the time. Maybe the citizens of the Republic didn’t really believe in the ideals you held so dear. Maybe they saw the Republic as a barrier rather than an enabler. In the end, it doesn’t matter, does it? We are where we are.

The words he didn’t speak were heard just as clearly to Stone: And you’re the one who got us here.

Stone chewed another rubbery bite of chicken and swallowed it, despite his protesting throat. "The Fortress Republic protocols were supposed to be a last-ditch effort. The Wall itself was designed to shield the core systems of Prefecture X long enough to mount a viable defense and counterattack. It’s up and running already. I hadn’t anticipated it being needed at all, and if so, years from now." All but a few bits and pieces outside of Prefecture X now belong to other governments…ripped from my Republic.

From the data I swept, Harwell said, it looks like the Exarch is preparing a fairly vigorous defense—building new ’Mechs and fielding new units. Thanks to Stone’s access codes, he had managed to gather quite a bit of information on the state of affairs in the Inner Sphere.

Stone nodded as he opened a Table of Organization and Equipment of the Republic Armed Forces. It was impressive in size, but there were literal wolves at the door. It isn’t enough to have a big army. You must have a strategy for defending Terra, and I am not seeing it yet. Jonah is not the man to lead in time of war. Damien or Victor would have been preferable. And Victor is dead. It was hard to say out loud. Victor Steiner-Davion had been the best of his Paladins, and one of his most trusted allies.

I can’t speak to that. I have no military experience. When I look at that map, what I see is that everyone that can is heading to Terra, and Terra is arming itself. Maybe the solution isn’t to fight whoever comes, but negotiate and save the planet.

Stone’s gaze narrowed at the young man. "I built this Republic to end war. I’ve seen things, boy, things that would turn your hair white. The Republic always maintained a ‘Peace Through Strength’ philosophy, and it worked pretty damned well when I was running things. After the Jihad, everyone was exhausted and tired of war, they wanted what the Republic had to offer.

I knew enemies would try to invade the Republic—hell, that was part of the plan. I always thought they would beat themselves senseless against our might and then, and only then, could we offer them the peace they really deserved. If my plan had worked, I would have greatly expanded my Republic when I was unfrozen. The old House governments would have been a distant memory, having failed their people. The Republic would have saved them all. Now all of that is lost…

Harwell stopped eating and slid his tray aside. Objectively speaking, I think your plan, whatever it was, is scrapped. You can see the map, right? Your ‘Republic’ is just over two dozen worlds inside the Fortress, and those would be gone if not for a technological barrier you have running. There’s a score of other Republic worlds outside the Fortress, in what is being called the Remnant, but they’re cut off from Terra and the rest of Prefecture X. I’m no military genius, but it seems their time is limited. I can’t see how you can go from that back to what the Republic was before.

You don’t have faith in the ideals of what I created, Stone said smoothly, as if to say, You don’t have the faith I do.

Faith? Harwell countered. "I was raised in a ComStar household, so I know all about ‘faith’ and ‘trust.’ We were a contemporary…secular ComStar family, but some of the trappings were still there from previous generations. Looking back, there was too much of the old ComStar in our lives—enough to seduce my own sister. She went full Word of Blake on us—including torturing and trying to kill me. All because of this damned Blackout—your Blackout—and trying to fix it. So pardon me if my ‘faith’ is a little compromised. You caused this war—or at least had a hand in lighting the fuse. I’ve seen the files, that’s why I came for you in the first place. You set all this in motion by taking down the hyperpulse generator network. Humpty-Dumpty has fallen, and all of the king’s horses and all of the king’s men can’t put him back together again."

Has everyone in the Republic become so jaded, and lost the ideals that made them a people? I won’t lie to you, Tucker. The Republic did set some of this in motion. I also didn’t plan on everything going to hell in a handbasket so quickly. I didn’t plan on the Republic to be gobbled up the way it was. By the same token, I did put things in place to counter all of this. When the Fortress Wall comes down, we can retake what was stolen from us and more. I know the House lords and their governments. I will retake the reins, and the Republic can be rebuilt, bigger and better than before. You will see.

"By ‘the Republic,’ you mean you, don’t you?"

He is fishing…but there are no bites in this end of the pond. It doesn’t matter. What matters now is rekindling the spirit of the Republic.

The deflection seemed to work, as Harwell shook his head. "Most of the Houses have changed leaders since you took your little nap. You still haven’t considered why your plan failed. Until you come to grips with that, none of this matters."

And why is that?

You didn’t factor in some of the personalities that emerged. Tucker ran a hand through his close-cropped black hair. The Jade Falcons and Clan Wolf will be at the edge of the Fortress soon enough. The Capellan Confederation is not far behind. You didn’t take into account that extraordinary times often create extraordinary people. Look at their leaders. The Clan Khans are personalities we have never seen before. No plan could have taken them into account. You can’t rely on a plan dealing with people you had no information on.

Stone had only quickly skimmed through the dossiers of Alaric Ward and Malvina Hazen. It was enough to acknowledge that Tucker Harwell was right. Malvina, the Falcons’ Khan, was an extremist of the worst possible kind, from what he had seen. Alaric Ward, leader of Clan Wolf, was something else entirely. When Stone had gone to sleep, the Clan Wolf Occupation Zone had been in an entirely different place. Now it was sandwiched between the Commonwealth and the Free Worlds League, flush up against Fortress Republic. This Ward is something to worry about as much as Hazen… To do what Alaric did in such a short period of time—to alter the map of the Inner Sphere so dramatically—told Stone that the Wolf Khan was a dangerous foe indeed. There is a bravado about him, a boldness.

Assuming you’re right, all of this simply means I have my work cut out for me, Stone said, summoning a hint of pride.

Tucker bowed his head and shook it, chuckling slightly.

Stone was not amused. Did I say something funny, Mr. Harwell?

A little bit, he said, returning his eyes to Stone’s. "Most people think you went off and retired and are likely dead. Other than the doctor we called in, no one has seen you in fifteen years. At no point did you surface, no messages, nothing. Now the Republic is under siege almost everywhere. It is a shitstorm of epic proportions. Yes, we are hunkered down here, but out there, beyond the Wall, war is raging. A lot of your people feel you deserted us when we needed you the most. Do you really believe you can just walk in and take control of this? People are going to question whether you’re really you, and why you had yourself frozen. Sure, many will greet you with open arms, but this is is a far cry from the Republic you left fifteen years ago."

This time it was Stone who chuckled. "I believe they will welcome me, Tucker. People want something to believe in. I delivered them from the Blakists before, and their gratitude is what forged the Republic."

Stone cleared his throat. "Tucker, the reality is people want

Reviews for BattleTech

[Michael Orabona · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very nice to see things getting back to normal. Stories carrying the game. I do hope this keeps up. Great book.